Loyal DCL cruisers going Norwegian?

[RandomIam]

Any loyal DCL cruisers gone on NCL after their Disney cruises and can share their thoughts.

We're being tempted by their kids sail free deal but can't imagine cruising on any line other than Disney? We have 2 kids, 3 and 5 and have done 5 DCL cruises in 3 years.

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Any loyal DCL cruisers gone on NCL after their Disney cruises and can share their thoughts.

We're being tempted by their kids sail free deal but can't imagine cruising on any line other than Disney? We have 2 kids, 3 and 5 and have done 5 DCL cruises in 3 years.

 

At your kids ages DCL is the best cruise line however if you have done five DCL cruises maybe its time for something new. Princess is good, I am trying RCCL this year to a change.

 

IMHO No one can beat Disney for kids clubs and the characters, and as said thats excellent for younger kids, as they grow older, other facilities come into demand such as larger pools, (dcl are small), Surfridder, ice skating, and rock climbing, cost is always an issue with DCL they are expensive, but also DCL do give out some kids sail free, I do not expect DCL to offer them on the new ships but look out for Magic or Wonder offering kids sail free on slower sailing cruises.

[Frenchsnowhite]

Don't expect the cruise to be the same, it wont.

We you have a nice cruise? For sure;)

It's fun to try something different, then go back to what we love the most:D

[Friend100]

Don't expect the cruise to be the same, it wont.:D

 

For sure, but so does the price too. :D

[Frenchsnowhite]

For sure, but so does the price too. :D

 

Exactly!!!! But where ever you are, on what ever cruise ship, you are still better off on the cruise ship than at home!!!;)

[BAIC03]

My DH and I started on Disney and have tried other lines, including NCL. We did a big New Years' family reunion in Hawaii.

 

We don't have any kids, but my 2 yr old nephew traveled with us, and he liked the cruise a lot. My brother and sister in law had some issues with the age at which he was allowed to be baby-sat or play in the nursury and it ended up causing some ppl to change/miss their shore excurions, but NCL made up with on ship credit and spa appts for my sister in law. Make sure you check the age rules before you go!

 

We've done Disney, Celebrity, RCL and NCL. NCL is the ONLY one we will do outside of Disney. Not as many areas for adults only, but it was A LOT cheaper and we had a great time. Great way to see the islands too if you don't know where to start in Hawaii.

[grand isle joe]

...one and done for me with NCL:eek:.....I will pray for you and your family. If they gave me a FREE cruise on NCL I would line a bird cage with the notification. Good Luck.;)

[TeeVeeTD]

My daughter (13) and I recently cruised on NCL. In our opinion there is no comparison to Disney.

 

We really did not like the Freestyle Dining. Because you have no assigned table you have to wait to be seated. On our cruise it seemed to take forever to be seated. A number of times we had completed our meals and the dining room still had open tables and there was still a line out the door. Also because you are at different tables each night you do not establish a relationship with your servers. It was something that we definitely missed.

 

She also did not like the Teen Club on board. She complained that nothing happens in the club until the evenings.

 

I noticed when the Wonder came into Cabo San Lucas, we were on the tendering pier watching the excursions come into town from the other ships. The groups from Disney had Cast Members with each group. The groups from NCL and HAL both were met by local tour guides. It is a small thing, but on our previous DCL excursions we always had CMs with us through out the excursion along with a local tour guide. It is just one of the small details that Disney does so well.

 

The difference in prices between the two cruise lines narrows when you factor in some of the restaurants on board charge between $10 and $35 per person, plus the free sodas on board DCL. The free dining room's menus were somewhat boring but the food was not bad. I noticed that most of the dining rooms had 3 course meals where DCL had 4 course meals.

 

We will not cruise NCL again and I probably will not get my daughter on any other cruise line.

 

I definitely think that Disney's value makes it worthwhile to spend the extra money. The service and the smiles that the Cast Members exhibit made DCL, I hate to say, Magical.

[Host Mick]

If you do jump ship (so to speak), please come back and tell us about the differences. We see a lot of comparisons to RCI but few to NCL.

[dexddd]

Any loyal DCL cruisers gone on NCL after their Disney cruises and can share their thoughts.

We're being tempted by their kids sail free deal but can't imagine cruising on any line other than Disney? We have 2 kids, 3 and 5 and have done 5 DCL cruises in 3 years.

Is there a certain destination you are looking at? We've been on many NCL. I'd say try to steer towards the newer ships (Dawn/Star and even newer Jewel/Pearl/Gem/Jade). Not that the older ships are bad (they are actually more classic looking ships whereas the newer ones some people call "garrish" because of the color schemes) but the newer ones are more family friendly.

[dexddd]

I saw your other post on NCL forum. If you are looking at the Star vs. Sun, do the Star IMO. We have done both and going on the Star again in August. The Star has a cool kids pool on the aft perfect for your kids age group - Splash Down Kids Pool. Then when you want a break from that pool, go to the pool in the center which also has some waterslides and and arena type sitting area so you can keep an eye on the kids (although the deepest pool there will be too deep for them, there is a shallow pool between where the waterslides end).

 

Go to:

 

http://www2.ncl.com/cruise-ship/star/overview

 

and then on the far right side - about middle you'll see an option to do 360 degree tours of various parts of the ship.

 

One other thing while on my mind - the specialty restaurants are supposedly moving to 1/2 price for kids 12 and under (or under 12) sometime in the near future.

[GatorMomInNC]

I just saw a tv show on CNBC from about 5 years ago. It was about the cruise industry, and focused on NCL. Apparently 25% of NCL revenue comes from on board spending by their guests. One of the biggest expenses, and one for which they really don't get additional revenue, is the entertainment.

 

I suddenly had an epiphany as to why DCL is so expensive. You can bring on your own liquor, sodas are free, limited (compared to NCL) upcharges for higher end restaurants, and from what I understand, DCL doesn't push you to buy stuff as aggressively. And of course, DCL has (reportedly) extravagant entertainment and no revenue from a casino. I always thought DCL's high prices were the result of arrogance. But now I see that DCL just needs to charge that extra money to make up the revenue lost from those other venues that NCL has.

[Jenn_K]

We thought about it for like 30 minutes. We could save about $1,000 and also gain 2 extra days as we have a 5 Night Dream booked right now. After considereing that we would have to pay for alcohol, the kids clubs if the boat is in port, many restaurants ... Add to that the fact that smoking is more prevalent on NCL then DCL and allowed in staterooms. The kids club is probably fine BUT I am sure can't hold a candle to DCL's. The difference after extras would probably be no where near $1000 and for us, right now, with a 2 year old and an 11 year old, we are just not ready to sail NCL.

[jackparts]

I have done all except HAL, 19 total. 2 DCL and 2 NCL in the last year. For me, DCL for families cannot be beat. My wife and I , NCL or Princess gets the nod. I love the anytime dining and have had zero problems. No wait times or sharing tables. Food slightly better than DCL. $$$$ are definitely better than DCL. BUT, when the kids and grandkids go, I bite the bullet and spend, spend, spend. No casino to lose $$ but save bucks on soda, the excursions and Disney ''have to have'' stuff adds up. Just wish that even tho the service is bloody fantastic, DCL takes too long between courses in the MDR.

[GrandmaHofmann]

We have not had to wait on NCL to be seated. It depends when you go. Also, we reserved a 6 pm dining time at the same table every night, so that can be done. We were on back to back Mediterranean cruises and never had trouble on either cruise.

[uziel5000]

I just saw a tv show on CNBC from about 5 years ago. It was about the cruise industry, and focused on NCL. Apparently 25% of NCL revenue comes from on board spending by their guests. One of the biggest expenses, and one for which they really don't get additional revenue, is the entertainment.

 

I suddenly had an epiphany as to why DCL is so expensive. You can bring on your own liquor, sodas are free, limited (compared to NCL) upcharges for higher end restaurants, and from what I understand, DCL doesn't push you to buy stuff as aggressively. And of course, DCL has (reportedly) extravagant entertainment and no revenue from a casino. I always thought DCL's high prices were the result of arrogance. But now I see that DCL just needs to charge that extra money to make up the revenue lost from those other venues that NCL has.

 

You know, I hadn't looked at it that way. In fact, many people make the comparison to other cruise lines and think: "Oh the difference is the characters." and that is the only reason why it's more expensive.

 

It's kind of hard to make an apples to apples comparison in terms of value.

[Host Mick]

You know, I hadn't looked at it that way. In fact, many people make the comparison to other cruise lines and think: "Oh the difference is the characters." and that is the only reason why it's more expensive.

 

It's kind of hard to make an apples to apples comparison in terms of value.

 

I live about 15 miles from Paramount's Great America. It's "exactly" like Disneyland, it has characters, shows, rides, food, "guests" and "castmembers".

However, Disneyland charges more than Great America so Great America must be a better value... right?

[mommy2tati]

I've only ever sailed DCL & Carnival. After DCL, Carnival was a disappointment. The staterooms were sooo tiny on Carnival that we just felt like sardines in a can even in a balcony stateroom. Nothing about Carnival really was great to me. The kids, tweens & teens were literally racing through the ship everywhere I went. I felt like if I didn't move fast enough I would get run over on Carnival. On DCL of course there were children but I didn't feel overwhelmed.

 

I've never sailed NCL but I will in November. I chose NCL because this will be an adults only trip (the other adult in not a fan of Disney). They've already left a bad taste in my mouth. I booked the long Columbus Day weekend then received an email that the sailing had been chartered. I had to either rebook another weekend or cancel :(. Luckily Veteran's Day this year falls on a Friday so I rebooked for this weekend. BUT the rep that handled the rebooking somehow erased my OBC & removed the promotion I had originally booked under. Eventually after 3 phone calls it was all adjusted. It was just a lot of hassle. Hopefully come November NCL will erase the bad taste. I gues I should also prepare myself for the smaller stateroom. The balcony we have booked on NCL is 202 sq ft vs. 299 sq ft on DCL.

[yucaipagal]

I am looking to sail DCL for the first time in March on my daughter's spring break and have been reading the forum to help with my decision when I ran across this post. My kids are 3 and 5 and have 5/6 soon to be 6/7 NCL sailings under their belts. They love it! I can't compare since we haven't done DCL yet, but I just wanted to express bow this age group can enjoy the NCL cruises, also look into a suite and you will not go wrong!!!!

 

Even though we have great love for NCL, I want to take them on DCL while they are still young enough for the characters to be really magical and it sounds like it will be worth it. I am getting that we should not book a suite though, because it will be a disappointment after NCL....

[hexdragon]

I can only compare Disney Wonder to NCL's Pride of America, but my experience might be a gauge...

 

First off there is the beverage thing that someone else mentioned. The whole 7 day cruise on POA I drank water... and if you brought a sports bottle with you, you were not allowed to fill it in any of the restaurants. The only place to fill it was the gym. I saw people running to Walmart and bringing cases of water and soda back...

 

Speaking of restaurants, Disney has three normal and one pay (plus buffets and snacks). POA had three normal (one with a dress code, they wouldn't let me in because I was wearing jeans) and a buffet, but five pay restaurants ranging from $10 per person to $35 per...

 

POA had a professional comic, a magician, and Toby Bowe (musician) but the rest of the entertainment was fairly amateur. Well, the jazz band was pretty tight... :p

[China1234]

My experience comes from being on 1 NCL cruise with my son, but I have yet to sail Disney. My son LOVED the kids club on NCL and really enjoyed the pool with the water slide as well. I preferred the anytime dining rather than a set dining time, it made things a little easier. I wouldn't hesitate to go on another NCL cruise.

 

Being on any cruise is much better than being at home.:)

[SallyUK]

We've done Disney, Celebrity, RCL and NCL. NCL is the ONLY one we will do outside of Disney. Not as many areas for adults only, but it was A LOT cheaper and we had a great time. Great way to see the islands too if you don't know where to start in Hawaii.

 

Do you know, that's really strange because we feel exactly the same! NCL for us is great for places that Disney doesn't go. Disney would always be our first choice but NCL is our second and way ahead of RCCL.

 

We've sailed a few times with them, but only on Jewel/Gem which are the same ship class. What we liked about them: choice of itineraries, choice of restaurant, ability to go to dinner when we were hungry as opposed to when our dinner time was fixed for, other activities (such as Rock Climbing wall etc), the customer service was also really good, not quite as good as Disney, which is phenomenal, but better than on other cruise lines. The class of ship we were on also had amazing spas - the best we've experienced on any cruiseline.

 

What isn't as good: excursions more expensive, entertainment good but not "Disney", you do spend more money on board on incidentals, fewer family activities (though they do exist), staterooms though comfortable are far smaller and don't have split baths.

 

What I will say I like about NCL is that they don't try to do the whole character thing which Royal Caribbean is trying at the moment. We are recently back from a short Med cruise on the Liberty of the Seas (RCCL) on which they had character dining and character deck welcome party and they were so lame by comparison with Disney - in both instances you'd have one character out at a time and then they would disappear into a little tent/backstage area and then another one would come out. This is something that if a ship is going to do to take on Disney they need to do well. At least in the case of NCL they didn't try.

 

To be fair, I'm also comparing NCLs newer ships (though not Epic) with Disney's older ones, so there may be more spa and rock climbing etc on the newer ones.

 

Hope this helps.

[Lindabs]

Any loyal DCL cruisers gone on NCL after their Disney cruises and can share their thoughts.

We're being tempted by their kids sail free deal but can't imagine cruising on any line other than Disney? We have 2 kids, 3 and 5 and have done 5 DCL cruises in 3 years.

 

I did a two week cruise on the EPIC in December. No kids on this one for me but there was a darling 5 year old girl in the cabin next to mine that would poke her head around the balcony and tell me all about her exciting day in the kids club everyday.

 

The food is much better than you usual fare on NCL and you'll love Freestyle dining with kids.

 

The little kids aqua park was very cute and Nick is onboard with Spongebob.

 

You see Blue Man for free and there is tons to do.

 

The water slide is awesome.

 

The kids travel in herds! Didn't see a bored one ever.:eek:

 

The trick is not to look at the outside of the boat as it is so ugly. The inside is great and the cabins were very modern.

 

Linda :)

[lolakat]

Prior to my recent DCL cruise I did 4 NCL cruises with my DD (now age 3). I'll try to give you my 2 cents worth below:

 

1. Kids: To me the kids entertainment on DCL is heads and shoulders above that on NCL. We even did the Nickelodeon cruise and it was no where near as good as what we got on DCL. NCL has a kids club which I'm sure is just fine but they did not have many activities that families with young children could do together. I loved that DCL had so much that I could do with my DD like the dance parties, family shows and even go with her to the kids club. On NCL parents are not allowed inside the kids club. NCL does not have a kiddy pool that compares to the Mickey pool on DCL. There is a very tiny wadding pool or the deeper family pool. (except on the Dawn which has a slightly larger dinasour themed kids pool). For family cruises I will be going with DCL from now on except when I go with grandma (my mom) who absolutely must have a casino. Then I will likely go back to NCL.

 

2. Price: NCL is cheaper any way you slice it. I can get a suite on NCL for about the same price as a balcony on DCL. The upcharges on NCL do not come close to making up the price difference for our family. Weather DCL offers a value over NCL for your family is a matter of opinion and personal tastes. IF you are a gambler you can get substantial room discounts on NCL through their casino at sea program.

 

3. Food: IMO the food and service in the main dining room on NCL is poor. On DCL it is average. The specialty resturants on NCL (Cagney's and Le Bistro in particular) are very good and worth the up charge. I almost never eat in the main dining room on NCL. We never had problems getting reservations to eat and therfore never waited for a table. On DCL we very happily ate in the Main Dining rooms. Not the best food I've ever had but it met or exceded my expectations for cruise food. We didn't get to Pablo's but I've heard it is very good as well.

 

4. Entertainment: The shows on DCL are way better and the entertainment geared to kids/family is top notch. I find the main shows on NCL to be a bore but the line has better night life. We love to see the charecters on DCL. Charecter meets on the NCL Nickoledeon cruise were very limited in comparison.

 

5. Cabins: The Disney cabin was a good size and I loved having the curtain to divide the sleeping areas. On NCL we get a suite so I can't say much about their regular cabins. The suite program on NCL is very nice. I love the courtyard feature and having the private access to Cagney's for breakfast and luch is nice. I looked into suites on DCL but the perks were not very exciting to me especially considering the price.

 

6. Service: I was very happy with the sevice on both lines. On DCL you do have the bonus of getting to know your dining team that stays with your for the whole cruise. As a suite guest on NCL we sort of have the same thing with the dining staff at Cagney's but not with the staff for dinner in other resturants. Some say the service on DCL is far above that on other lines but I have not really noted a big difference. Not to say DCL but that the other lines I've sailed (NCL, RCL, Clebrity, Carnival) have also been good. Maybe I'm easily pleased.

 

All in all, if money is no object I would choose DCL for a vacation with kids. If money is a concern than take NCL had have a great time! Hope this is helpful to you. Which ever you choose I'm sure you will have a wonderful vacation!

[dexddd]

For those of you considering NCL, just do your research as the ships can vary in terms of what they offer. NCL ships are generally broken into classes and within those classes, the ships are similar, but across classes can be quite different.

 

As an example related to the pool areas, NCL goes from the Sun/Sky which have small main pools to the Spirit, Star, Dawn which have a main pool and a dedicated rear kids pool area to the Jewel class which have the main pool area with some slides to the Epic which has a slide complex around the pool.